Tag Archives: eurasian

I love spring! However, some of my favorite winter commute
companions will soon be departing. Our Salish Sea feathered friends
are turning their focus from sitting out the winter in our
relatively calm and rich inland waters to getting busy on this
summer’s crop of young’uns. For many birds, that means leaving
central Puget Sound for points north or inland. Many are changing
dramatically into their winter plumage (the flashy reds, blues and
whites of grebes and cormorants are some of my favorites). The
winter birds of which I am most fond, however, are the wigeon.

The large overwintering flocks can be appreciated day and night
from September through April. Many grassy shoreline parks host
their own band of wigeon that offer you a good look during the day.
During the long dark hours of winter, the large flocks rest on
quiet waters. Waiting for a foot ferry to shuttle across Sinclair
Inlet to Bremerton on a dark, wet morning may treat you to a
chorus of peeping and whistling. (YouTube video of whistling wigeon.)

Many nearshore homeowners may disagree with my attraction to
wigeon. Wigeon love short green grass and can poop, stomp and
nibble a manicured lawn all winter long. I’ve seen flashy objects
in some shoreline lawns that I imagine are intended to keep wigeon
off (if you have experience with this, I’m curious how well it
works).

A large flock of wigeon typically affords an ornithological
treat. Actually, it’s more like a treasure hunt. When you find the
treasure, you get the treat.

Like a needle in a duck down pillow, a male Eurasian wigeon
(rust colored head) can often be found among the hundreds of
American wigeon (speckled head with a green stripe) in a large
flock. This winter guest to our shores typically breeds in northern
Europe and Asia. Then flies far to the south to enjoy more
temperate winters. Those that we see just happen to migrate down
through Alaska instead of Siberia.

In mid-March, the flock of wigeon at Evergreen Park in Bremerton
made it a little easier to find the needle. At least 4 handsome,
brown headed lads were pulling up grass with gusto. If you wish to
see them, you might head down to Evergreen Park to scan the flock and wish them
well on their long flight to the breeding grounds. However, it’s
possible that some Eurasian wigeon temporarily defect to North
America.

There’s some debate among birders that a few wigeon ladies might
find themselves swooning for the fancy feathers of a male from the
other species, resulting in hybrids that share some characteristics
of each. There also appears to be some variability in each species
that may lead to the speculation of hybridization.

Wherever they go, these large flocks will soon depart, and I’ll
just have to look forward to September when the wonderful wigeon
return. In the meantime, my arguably less charismatic commuting
companions of summer are just around the corner… Go big
jellies!